MMI

Sanborn writes: "While my work is usually known for its dark humor and flights of fancy, the events of 2001 forced me to be introspective and focus on areas of my life I had literally taken for granted. I struggled with the death of my father, and that confrontation forced me to face the facts of my own parenthood. And what looked like a dream career opportunity turned into a nightmare that necessitated moving cross-country TWICE in one year, as well as shattering what appeared to be my future. As I continued to work on the project, usually from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m. when the family had settled down, my friend, the talented Paul Dresher, helped me to structure the images and feelings around his music. The result is unlike anything I have ever created, a personal drama filled with a sense of longing, stillness, motion and light."

Dennis Harvey writes in Variety:
"Avant-garde in form yet poignant, funny and accessible, normally acerbic experimental filmmaker John Sanborn's short feature "MMI" unites the political, the personal and the philosophical in one deft package. Reflection on his tumultuous first post-millenial year — one that encompassed a cross-continental move, stressful new job, deaths and 9/11 — is an inventive audio/visual collage that carries real emotional heft."